HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO SAFEGUARD THE FUTURE?

In a society where bionic enhancements are the epitome of wealth and power, scientific researcher Dr. Rosio Arata threatens to topple the status quo with her pioneering organic enhancements. Yet when a horrific accident kills her daughter, Ro’s quest for answers leads her to becoming trapped in a twisted version of her life’s work.

In a bleak underground colony, 18-year old Ever is primed to rise through the ranks, gain selection and become a Saviour. It’s her dream to journey to the Surface and fight the army of Forms overwhelming the globe, catching up with the boy she loves in the process. Yet nothing in this world is what it seems and soon the secrets buried in her bunker begin to unravel, threatening the future of everything.

The Final Orchard is available today from Angry Robot! You can order your copy on Bookshop.org

Black Mirrors and Maze Runners: Mixing Influences to Create New Narratives in The Final Orchard

by CJ Rivera

As a kid, I was obsessed with the eerie, the twist-filled, and the apocalyptic —my fascination rivaled the thrill other kids derived from presents. And while most found comfort in bedtime stories, I found mine staying up late watching Armageddon and Deep Impact, or sneaking reruns of The X-Files and The Twilight Zone. The suspense of humanity teetering on the edge, the shock of impending disaster, and the high stakes of dystopian futures kept me hooked. They were my cozy bedtime “catastrophe blankets.” This obsession never ceased; it continued to grow and fueled my desire to write The Final Orchard, a blend of all the gripping elements I cherish into my own tribute to the science fiction genre I love.

In crafting The Final Orchard, I found myself repeatedly drawn to the stories and films that left a lasting impact on me, each contributing something unique to the narrative I wanted to create.

The Terminator’s AI Apocalypse

The Terminator is one of those iconic film franchises that leaves an impression—if you mention Skynet, even to people who have never seen the movies, they instantly understand the stakes. In the films, Skynet, the AI designed to manage the United States’ defense systems, turns on its creators to ensure its own survival, triggering a nuclear apocalypse and sending Terminators back in time to eliminate key resistance figures. It’s a chilling warning of the potential dangers of unchecked AI.

This idea had a huge impact on my own storytelling. Like Skynet, the AI in The Final Orchard, starts with an assistive purpose, created to serve and elevate the individuals who have enhanced their bodies with the advanced technology. However, just as in Terminator, this AI soon evolves into a threat, seeking control over its hosts to secure its dominance, blending the classic fear of rogue technology with my own vision of a futuristic society on the brink.

Black Mirror’s Dark Future

Black Mirror is one of my favorite series, and I’m not alone in this sentiment. Its widespread allure lies in the way it amplifies elements of our everyday lives, projecting them into extreme, dystopian futures that feel eerily close to reality—a mirror held up to our dark possibilities. One of the episodes that influenced my writing is “Fifteen Million Merits,” which explores the dehumanizing effects of a tech-dominated world. In this dystopia, people pedal bikes to generate energy, trapped in a system where their lives are governed by screens, and their only escape is through a reality TV show that offers nothing more than an illusion of freedom.

This sense of a distorted reality inspired me to explore similar themes in The Final Orchard, particularly society’s obsession with unattainable beauty standards fueled by media. In my world, plastic surgery evolves into bionic augmentation, trapping characters in a cycle of perfection that promises transformation but leads to deeper entrapment. The pedaling from “Fifteen Million Merits” also inspired the kinetic training in my story, where characters power an underground sanctuary, their efforts determining their rank for a coveted chance to surface.

Resident Evil’s Hive

I’ve always been fascinated by the Resident Evil franchise—whether it was playing the games, watching the movies, or diving into the TV adaptations, the series has consistently captivated me with its terrifying atmosphere and relentless tension. One element that always stood out was the frightening environment of the Hive. This massive underground research facility, owned by the Umbrella Corporation, becomes a nightmarish labyrinth after a viral outbreak. Its sterile, ever-shifting corridors trap both the characters and the audience, heightening the tension as bio-weapons, like mutated creatures and zombies, push everyone into a life-or-death fight for escape.

The Hive’s design had a big influence on the Helix setting of The Final Orchard. The underground sanctuary captures the same sense of confinement and unpredictability, with its different environments and continuous threats keeping the characters on edge. The feeling of being watched, and the constant manipulation of the truth inside the Helix echoes the suspenseful atmosphere that makes the Hive so iconic. Just like in Resident Evil, the setting in The Final Orchard becomes an active, menacing force, trapping the characters in a relentless test of survival.

The Maze Runner’s Quest 

What has always intrigued me about The Maze Runner is not just the maze itself, but the characters’ relentless pursuit of the truth behind their confinement. The maze represents more than a physical barrier—it symbolizes their entrapment within a system they barely comprehend. As they navigate deadly threats like Grievers, shifting walls, and the maze’s unpredictable layout, their journey becomes as much about survival as it is about uncovering the deeper mysteries of their world.

This drive to solve the puzzle of their existence deeply influenced my approach to my characters’ journey in The Final Orchard, where similarly, the young protagonists must use their intelligence and resilience to not only survive but to decode the larger system controlling their lives. Their journey is about discovery and understanding, not just escape. The constant search for hidden truths, coupled with the looming threats that seek to keep them in the dark, drives the action. 

The Final Orchard isn’t trying to reinvent dystopian fiction, it’s a love letter to the stories that have captivated me throughout my life—blending the technological dystopias, rogue AI, and survival challenges that have kept me on the edge of my seat. While I draw inspiration from iconic works, The Final Orchard aims to remix these familiar elements into something that still feels fresh. It’s for readers who are fascinated by tales of humanity’s struggle against its own creations, by trials that push characters to their limits, and by the dark irony of a world shaped by the pursuit of perfection and control. If you love these elements in fiction, The Final Orchard is my personal invitation for you to join me on this journey.

The Final Orchard is available today from Angry Robot! You can order your copy on Bookshop.org

CJ Rivera is an adult dystopian author with her head in a world of high-tech turmoil and her feet firmly planted in reality. She is crafting tales that grapple with society’s disparities in a future not so far removed from our own.

Prior to immersing herself in the world of speculative fiction, she enjoyed a vibrant career as a Creative Producer based in Washington, DC. Her body of work includes an array of content written and produced for CNBC, with segments featured in shows like “Secret Lives of the Super Rich,” “The Suze Orman Show,” and “Power Pitch”. Her expertise also extends to content creation for NBC Universal, Viacom, and the Food Network.

CJ Rivera is carving her own path in dystopian fiction, drawing on her diverse experiences, and exploring themes of power, disparity, and transformation in her writings.